It wasn't just Long Xiaoxiao's Master who had hidden herself. Mo Yuhan's grandfather swept his great sleeve, and the entire stretch of sky where they stood plunged into concealment.
Unless one's cultivation level was sufficiently high, it was impossible for the likes of Chu Feng to see through their location. Even though Chu Feng was a White Dragon God Cloak and possessed an extraordinarily powerful bloodline, he still couldn't perceive them.
After subduing Mo Yuhan's Master, Mo Yuhan's grandfather didn't leave right away. Instead, he cast his cold gaze toward the direction where Chu Feng was located.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, a small door landed in his hand. The moment it left his grasp, it expanded rapidly until it hung suspended before him.
The door resembled a barrier gate, yet it wasn't truly a barrier gate. It was plastered all over with complex talisman papers.
The instant she saw those talisman papers, Long Xiaoxiao's Master felt a chill run through her heart. If she hadn't been rendered completely speechless at this moment, she would have undoubtedly launched into a furious tirade against Mo Yuhan's grandfather.
She could tell that every single talisman paper contained the bloodline essence of a barrier master — and not just any barrier master's, but that of a young junior.
So many talisman papers, packed tightly and densely across that door. One could only imagine how many innocent juniors had perished for this.
But when that door opened, her heart was shaken even more violently.
Inside the door was a small space. In the center sat a coffin, and whether it was the coffin itself or the walls, floor, and ceiling of that space, every single surface was plastered thick with countless talisman papers.
If the talisman papers on the door had already seemed like an overwhelming amount, then the papers inside this room were at least a thousand times more.
Every single talisman represented a junior whose bloodline had been forcibly stripped from them.
At that moment, Long Xiaoxiao's Master felt her breathing grow labored. She couldn't accept this.
She had been a close friend of Mo Yuhan's grandfather for many years and had believed she understood the man. That was precisely why she couldn't accept that this old friend of hers had done something like this.
While neither of them was the sort to be soft-hearted — countless lives had already been taken at their hands — they each had their own sense of right and wrong, their own code of justice. Slaughtering innocents indiscriminately was something they rarely did.
That was why Mo Yuhan's grandfather's current actions were so impossible for her to stomach.
It seemed Mo Yuhan's grandfather noticed her reaction. He didn't step inside immediately but instead turned to look at Long Xiaoxiao's Master.
"I know you must be feeling rather disgusted with me right now."
"I don't blame you. The reason I showed you all this is so you'll understand — if there were truly another choice, I wouldn't harm Chu Feng either. But I have no other option."
"He's my son. My own flesh and blood. And he's also Yuhan's biological father."
"If you have children of your own, you should be able to understand how I feel. To keep him alive, I would gladly give up my own life without a second thought. That is a parent's love for their child."
"It's just a pity that my life alone isn't enough to save him."
With those words, Mo Yuhan's grandfather walked into the room and shut the talisman door behind him.
What he didn't know was that two figures hovered high in the sky above, watching their every move.
They could see straight through the concealment. They had witnessed everything that had just transpired.
It was two women…
The white-haired woman was none other than the cold and aloof woman Chu Feng had encountered during the Ultimate Trial.
Standing beside the white-haired woman was a red-robed woman brimming with elegant charm. Though her face appeared young, her eyes seemed to have witnessed the passage of countless ages.
"Aunt," the white-haired woman said, looking up at the red-robed woman.
"Shall I take care of this troublemaker for that Chu Feng?" the red-robed woman said, already understanding what the white-haired woman intended.
"I would be grateful, Aunt," the white-haired woman nodded.
"Kill both of them?" the red-robed woman asked, glancing toward the spot where Long Xiaoxiao's Master was concealed.
"Leave Long Xiaoxiao's Master alive," the white-haired woman said.
"Very well," the red-robed woman smiled.
She then produced a length of white cloth and tossed it toward Long Xiaoxiao's Master's location.
Long Xiaoxiao's Master had still been able to see the events unfolding before her, but the moment the white cloth descended, it not only blocked her vision but also sealed away her spiritual perception.
"What's going on?" Long Xiaoxiao's Master silently lamented, sensing that something was terribly wrong. She realized this white cloth was not Mo Yuhan's grandfather's doing.
She tried to speak, but found that even her voice couldn't escape. This only deepened the sense of foreboding in her heart.
Meanwhile, the red-robed woman descended before the talisman door. With great politeness, she gave it a light knock.
"If you don't open up, don't blame me for destroying this little healing sanctuary of yours," the red-robed woman said.
The words had barely left her lips when the door swung open. The red-robed woman stepped inside and casually closed the door behind her.
"You?"
At that moment, Mo Yuhan's grandfather stared at the red-robed woman with eyes full of astonishment.
"You recognize me?" the red-robed woman said with a faint smile.
"The former Nine Banner Dragon Warrior — Long Suqing," Mo Yuhan's grandfather said.
"I didn't realize my reputation was so widespread," the red-robed woman said, flipping her long hair with a touch of pride.
"You withdrew from the Nine Banner Dragon War and left the Totem Dragon Clan long ago. Why are you still paying attention to the Totem Dragon Clan's affairs?" Mo Yuhan's grandfather assumed that her presence here must be connected to the Ultimate Trial.
"What I concern myself with is none of your business. But if you're hoping to save him, I'm afraid that won't be happening," the red-robed woman said, casting a glance toward the coffin.
Around the coffin, numerous red candles had already been arranged, and paired with the talisman papers covering every surface, the scene was thoroughly eerie. It appeared to be some sort of sacrificial ritual.
Whoosh—